BlackBerry 10 Smartphones to Run Android Apps Discussion

[Ryan Punzalan]

In a conference call this morning, the new CEO of RIM, Thorsten Heins, announced that BlackBerry 10 smartphones will have an Android player, allowing them to run third-party software created for this rival platform.

Read the full content of this Article: BlackBerry 10 Smartphones to Run Android Apps

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[r0k]

The requirement that Android developers modify their apps to run on BB OS 10 means that relatively few apps will be available on "day one". If RIM's slide continues, it also means there will still be relatively few apps available on "day 365."

RIM needs to find a way to make everything that worked on BB OS work on BB OS 10. So far their effort on the Playbook can be described in two words: Epic Fail. For RIM to fight its way back from the grave, it means push email, BBM and all several hundred BB OS apps have to "just work" on BB OS 10. Then when they announce that Android apps will work, people will listen because they know they are adding something to what they already have.

But if existing BB customers are faced with the prospect of being orphaned (like webOS orphaned Garnet and like WP7 orphaned Windows Mobile), then it is hard to believe the announcement of availability of Android apps on future BB phones is anything more than "permission" to defect to Android now rather than wait.

[jigwashere]

If I were a developer and could get my app on an additional million or so devices with minimal effort, I think I'd go ahead and make the change.

[Hook]

This really doesn't make sense to me. As a consumer, why would I want to run android apps on a BlackBerry rather than on Android. At the enterprise level, the BlackBerry is locked down and they aren't going to let me run Android apps. And if they are getting rid of the keyboard, it doesn't even help me if I want to do it because I want to run my android apps with a hard keyboard.

I just find it baffling.

[Adama D. Brown]

If I were a developer and could get my app on an additional million or so devices with minimal effort, I think I'd go ahead and make the change.

There's the problem, though. How many devices is RIM going to sell with BBX on them? Let's assume they sell 5 million smartphones with BBX over the course of next year. Great--except Google now activates that many pure Android devices in a WEEK. There are probably more "niche" Android devices out there, like the cheap Chinese tablets, than there are new Blackberry phones coming out. So developers are going to have to wonder, is it really worth the added time to do Blackberry compatibility, or would they be better off tweaking for tablets?

[r0k]

If I were a developer and could get my app on an additional million or so devices with minimal effort, I think I'd go ahead and make the change.

Absolutely. I'm concerned that RIM will have trouble translating existing BB OS customers into BB OS 10 customers if they botch things as badly as the botched the Playbook. They were touting the ability to run Android apps on the Playbook but I mean you couldn't even use BB services on a BB tablet. What the heck was that all about?!?

I've transitioned from one BB to another and while it was smoother than Palm, it was nowhere near as seamless as going from one iOS device to another. RIM has to make things flawless and seamless for its existing BB OS user base or it's game over. Who in their right mind is going to move from Android or iOS to BB OS 10? So those million devices you're talking about have to all come from today's BB OS users and these days that's a vanishing breed.

I can almost visualize the thought process of today's BB user base: Let's see... I can move to BB OS 10 "some time in 2013" and maybe bring my data with me and maybe run Android apps or I can move to Android now... I'll take Android now.

[Varjak]

Don't developers already have to modify apps based on what phones they want them to work on? I would assume the minor changes are on that level.

I'm not BB fan myself; but they do have their strengths, and as Hook wrote, even a diminished pool of BB users represents a significant pool of customers. Of course, the BBX phone has already been delayed and may not be out for some time. That, coupled with the limited form-factor, may reduce its penetration even more.

[Adama D. Brown]

Don't developers already have to modify apps based on what phones they want them to work on? I would assume the minor changes are on that level.

Not really. While there's a lot of talk about "fragmentation" on Android, the fact is it would be completely impossible for a developer to personally address more than a handful of actual devices if they needed specific customizations.

[rkevwill]

The requirement that Android developers modify their apps to run on BB OS 10 means that relatively few apps will be available on "day one". If RIM's slide continues, it also means there will still be relatively few apps available on "day 365."

RIM needs to find a way to make everything that worked on BB OS work on BB OS 10. So far their effort on the Playbook can be described in two words: Epic Fail. For RIM to fight its way back from the grave, it means push email, BBM and all several hundred BB OS apps have to "just work" on BB OS 10. Then when they announce that Android apps will work, people will listen because they know they are adding something to what they already have.

But if existing BB customers are faced with the prospect of being orphaned (like webOS orphaned Garnet and like WP7 orphaned Windows Mobile), then it is hard to believe the announcement of availability of Android apps on future BB phones is anything more than "permission" to defect to Android now rather than wait.

Or, to IOS. When I watched RIM's last developer conference, I immediately contacted sprint, and canceled my BB. Next call was to my IT dept, to get my iphone on the new secure system they set up for Androids and iPhone. That said, I wouldn't say I would never get another BB device. I love their keyboard. (I see NO reason to get a touchscreen BB these days. I will stick with my iPhone)

[r0k]

Or, to IOS. When I watched RIM's last developer conference, I immediately contacted sprint, and canceled my BB. Next call was to my IT dept, to get my iphone on the new secure system they set up for Androids and iPhone. That said, I wouldn't say I would never get another BB device. I love their keyboard. (I see NO reason to get a touchscreen BB these days. I will stick with my iPhone)

I didn't mention iOS because the thread was about running Android apps on BB OS 10 but of course iOS makes a viable upgrade from a Blackberry.